The local news ran a story recently about Milwaukie's new dope dog Shaka, a Pit Bull. I think it's awesome that they are using a Pit Bull, just goes to show what these dogs can actually do. They had a clip of her searching vehicles for drugs and the dog is RIPPED and loves her job.

Shaka is a five and one-half year-old American Staffordshire Terrier. Shaka’s history is an interesting one. She was rescued from a New York dog pound. A local New York pit-bull advocate found Shaka and realized she had great potential to become a law enforcement detection/tracking dog. The pit-bull advocate contacted a Drug Detection Academy in the state of Washington in hopes Shaka would be evaluated and admitted into the drug detection program.

Shaka passed the Washington State Patrol K9 Drug Detection Academy with flying colors. After her training was complete, she was adopted by the Washougal Washington Police Department. Shaka’s previous handler, Officer Thad Eakins, had great success with Shaka and they developed a renowned reputation as a drug detection team. Milwaukie was offered the opportunity of acquiring Shaka when the Washougal Police Department suffered budget cuts that eliminated its canine program.

Milwaukie Officer Billy Wells accepted the responsibility and position of drug detection K9 Handler. Officer Wells and his K9 partner Shaka are an inseparable team. Shaka’s happy-go-lucky personality certainly dispels any bias people might have about her breed. She absolutely loves attention from anyone willing to pet her.

Shaka is trained to detect a variety of different illegal drug compounds. A dog’s sense of smell is up to 1,000 times better than a human’s sense of smell. Certain breeds of canines can even detect chemical compounds in as little as molecular parts per trillion! When Shaka finds an odor she has been trained to detect, she notifies her handler by sitting and looking at the point she has identified.